This statistic is compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, which releases a yearly report about the number of
high-school graduates who are enrolled in college the following
fall.

In 2013, 65.9% of that year's graduates were in college by
October, down from 66.2% in 2012.

"Falling college enrollment indicates that upward mobility may
become more difficult for working-class and disadvantaged high
school graduates ... It's another part of the long-term scarring
process of the Great Recession that has been partly hidden,"
Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute
in Washington, told The Times.

The percentages of high-school graduates in college annually over
the past five years show a sizable overall decline since the 2009
peak:

The Times also highlights some encouraging statistics, noting
"that 51% of the high school graduates who did not go on to
college had jobs by October, and that 74% were in the labor
force, meaning they either were employed or were looking for
work." Both of these percentages were up from the year before.